Tracking technologies for the solar power plants

In my last upload “Assessment of impact of solar tracking system on generation of a PV plant” I have written about effect on generation by using the tracking system. In this upload, I am going to share technical aspect of different tracking technologies of solar power plants.

Fixed tilted plane: This is a very basic and common plane. Solar panels are installed on the fixed structure. A tilt is provided in the structure which is typically varies from 250 – 300, depending upon location of the solar power plant.

Seasonal tilt adjustment: This plane is an upgraded version of the fixed tilted plane. This plane comes with the option of different tilt angles. Generally two options are available, one for winter and other for summer. Typically, tilt angle for the summer and winter are 30⁰ and 600 respectively.

Single axis tracking: Sun travels through 3600 east-west a day. For a particular location, a PV plant can use sun energy max for 1800(This means 12 hour in a day). Height of sun in the morning and evening is less which leads to deviation from the optimal tilt. A PVSYST analysis clearly shows the variation in the available energy from the sun for a fixed tilted plane in dawn and sunset

Single axis trackers track sun and reduce deviation from the optimal tilt with respect to sun height. Typically, tilt limits are 100 to 800.

Double axis tracking: Sun travels through 3600 east-west a day. It also travels 460 from north to south over the period of year. Single axis trackers do not track sun from north to south. Typically, this leads to loss of 8% to 10%. Double tracking system tracks sun in both directions.

Generation increases with the use of tracking systems. The graph is clearly showing the generation comparison with the different tracking systems.